Jacket for foot-ball players.



IPATENTED NOV. 27, 1906'.

A. SGHEM'BL. JACKET Pon Foo'r BALL PLAYERS.

APPLICATION FILED JAH. 9, 1905.

INVENTOR afb/alzan@ Mel/MZ rm: mma/s Fssres ca., wAsNmaToN. nA c vIOUNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Nov. 27', 190e.

Application filed January 9, 1905. Serial No. 240.171.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM SOHEMEL, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Jackets forFoot- Ball Players, of which the following is a speciiication.

The invention relates to improvements in jackets for foot-ball players,and pertains more especially to ajacket adapted for the protection ofthe collar-bones and shoulders of the wearers.

It is well understood that in the game of foot-ball the collar-bone andshoulders are especially liable to injury, and while'some attempts havebeen made to protect these parts the means heretofore devised for thepurpose lhave been inadequate and clumsy and not acceptable to foot-ballplayers.

In accordance with my invention I provide a iiexible jacket fitting theupper portions of the body and so constructed, arranged, and paddedthatthe jacket is not only entirely comfortable of use, but doesadequately protect the collar-bones and shoulders and enables theexercise of the highest degree of skill in playingv the game.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed descriptionhereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in perspective, of thecom` lete jacket. Fig. 2 is a top view, partly bro en away, of one-halfof the jacket spread out. Fig. 3 is a sectional view through a portionof one-half of the jacket on the dotted line 3 3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4is a sectional view through a portion of same on the dotted line 4 4 ofFig. 2.

I have for convenience formed the jacket in two corresponding half partsor sections 10 11, the part 1() fitting over the right shoulder and thepart 11 over the left shoulder of the player and these two parts beingpreferably connected together at the front and rear by means oflacing-cords 12 13, which may be of elastic material, so as to allowfreedom of movement within the jacket. Each half of the jacket comprisesan exterior layer of soft leather, canvas, or other flexible material14,

which extendsaround the neck portion and` to the front and rear as wellas downwardly and partly around under the armpits, the two sectionsl16,which pass under the arm-pits, being connected together, or adaptedso to be, by an elastic strip 17 The outline of the sections 15 16 isclearly represented by dotted lines in Fig.- 2, while in Fig. 1 thesection 16 is shown by full' lines. At the vertical edges 18 19 of theexterior fabric 14 where lar-bone without creating an unduly bulky orinconvenient condition or a distasteful ap.- pearance. To the inner sideof the exterior fabric 14 I secure, by sewing or otherwise, a padcomprising an inner layer 22 of felt or other soft cushioning material,a layer of heavy leather 23, and a layer of felt or oth er suitablecushioning material 24, the heavy leather 23 being between the twolayers of felt 22 24 and preferably extending from a point (indicated inFig. 1 by the line of stitching 25) somewhat below the collar-bone to apoint about centrally of the shoulder and indicated by the line ofstitching 26, the heavy leather thus extending somewhat above and belowthe collar-bone and transversely from about the front vertical edge 18of the fabric 14 (above the sewing-line 25) to the outer edge of saidfabric. I thus confine the heavy leather 23 to that portion of thejacket-section which is directly upon and about the collar-bone; but ofcourse I do not limit myself to the precise form and dimensions of theleather 23, since said leather may be extended upwardly over theshoulder or downwardly somewhat farther than shown, if desired.

The layers of felt or other cushioning material 22 24 inclose the layerof heavy leather 23, but extend by preference entirely over the top ofthe shoulder, said padding commencing at, say, the sewing-lines 25, andcontinuing, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to about the point denoted by thelines of stitching 27, so as to aid in protecting'the top of theshoulder. I do not extend the padding and leather 23 below the lines ofstitching 25, nor do I extend the layers of padding beyond the lines ofstitching 27, because I desire to produce fiexible Hap-sections(numbered 28 29, re-

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i the leather is kept y terior layer of leather, canvas,

spectively) front and back, adapted to closely fit the wearer and yieldto the movements of the body, said flap-sections serving to roperly holdthe padded portions of the jac {et in position without creating afeeling of undue restraint in the wearer or causing him to feel anyinconvenience from wearing the jacket. In the preferred construction ofeach halfsection of the jacket I therefore employ the outer flexiblelayer of fabric 14, a soft cushioning-pad, extending from the frontbelow the collarfbone upwardly over the shoulder and to' about the rearedge of the shoulder, and a piece of heavy leather or like resistingmaterial 23, interposed within the cushioning-pad at the front of thejacket and extending upwardly along the collar-'bone and upon theshoulder. The interposition of the leather 23 between the'layers ofcushioning material 22 24 is a desirable feature in that from immediatecontact with the body of the wearer and receives any blow that may comeupon it through the outer layer of cushioning material 24, the

.blow being thus deadened before acting upon` the leather and the latterbeing prevented from .transmitting `the full force of lthe deadened blowto the wearer by reason of the inner layer of, cushioning material 22.The embedding of the leather 23 within the cushioning-pad is also ofimportance in that such arrangement enables the jacket to more ysecurelyfit upon the frame -of thewearer, the yielding cushioning material ateach side of the leather compensating for any tendency of the heavyleather or stiff material 23, which ispreferably sole-leather, not toconform to the body. j

' That portion of each section l() 11 directly attheside of the neck israther narrow and does not extend down over the shoulder-joint, butextends up along the collar-bone and thenv over the shoulder Yclose upto the neck, whereby said part of the jacket while protecting the colla-b'one and parts of the neck in nol manner interferes'with full freedomof motion in the shoulders of the wearer. It is necessary, however, thatthe shoulders of the wearerbe protected, and hence I provideshoulder-caps connected with the sections 10 1 1 and constituting a partof the jacket, each shoulder-cap comprising an upper section 30 and alower section 31 these sections being secured together along the linesof stitching 32 33 and being connected with the jacket-section directlyover the shoulder by means of a strong band of elastic webbing 34, asmore clearlyillustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

Thevup er section 30 of the shoulder-cap is formed o a piece of heavyleather, preferably sole-leathenand the lower section 31 .of theshoulder-cap is preferably formed of an exor other flexible material 35and an inner layer of felt or other soft cushioning material 36, asshown coming destroyed.

in Fig. 3, the cushioning material 36 fitting over the shoulder-jointand the upper section 30, of stiff material, starting from about theshoulder-joint and extending upwardly and inwardly and lapping upon thej acket-section, said upper section 30 protecting the top of theshoulder and also the front and rear portions of same. In order toproperly and snugly retain the shoulder-caps in position down-upon theshoulders of the wearer, I pro'- vide the end portions of the uppersections 30 with elastic straps 37 38, adapted to be connected togetherunder the armpits by hooks and eyes or other convenient means. j,

TheY shoulder-caps of the construction described are of specialimportance in view of their durability and the rotection they afford thewearer against t e hard shocks experienced in tackling The man tackledis usually protected. over the thighs by hard cane strips, and theshoulder-caps of my invention are designed to protect the wearer againstinjury due to the Contact of his shoulders with the thigh-protectorsworn by football layers. The shoulder-caps of my invention are also ofimportance 1n protecting the wearerin cases of otherparts of the game.The flexible connection of the shoulder-caps with the body of the jacketassures freedom of motion in the shoulders of the wearer and enables himto utilize his maximum strength without inconvenience. rIhe uppercap-sections 30, being of heavy leather, are not liable to be torn anddestroyed during the game, and they, with the pad-lining, not onlyprotect the wearer, but prevent the jacket itself from be- The strips ofelastic webbing 34 are shown as sewed to the shoulder-caps andjacket-sections; but I do not confine the invention to the feature ofsewing, since it is obvious that other means of connection may beadopted without departing from my invention. Aside from the yieldingnature of the strips 34 these strips afford an articulated connection ofthe shoulder-caps to the jacket, and thus the caps may yield to themovements and positioning of the shoulders without straining the neckportion of the jacket. v

The invention is not limited in every instance to forming the jacket intwo half-sections; but this is a desirable and economical manner offorming it.

What I claim as my invention, to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The two-part jacket having elastically* yielding sections and adaptedto be fastened around the upper portion of the body and comprising alayer of flexible material 14 of a Jform and dimensions to pass aroundthe neck and downwardly along the front and rear and partly around underthe armpits of the wearer, the lower edges of the front portion of saidfabric terminating considerably above and desire IOO IOS

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the waist-line and below the collar-bone of I the wearer, and interiorprotectors for the collar-bones secured by sewing-lines 25, 26 andconfined above the lower front edges of j the material 14 and inlocations where they may protect the collar-bones only withoutinterfering with the flexible character of the l jacket below theregions thus protected, the j back portion of the jacket being flexiblethroughout, and said protectors each comj prising a layer of stiffmaterial and a cushioning-pad substantially as set forth.

2. The two-part jacket having elasticallyyielding sections and adaptedto be fastened around the upper portion of the body and comprising alayer of flexible material 14 of a form and dimensions to pass aroundthe neck and downwardly along the front and rear and partly around underthe armpits of the wearer, l the lower edges of the front portion ofsaid fabric terminating considerably above the waist-line and below thecollar-bone of the wearer, and interior protectors for the collarbonessecured by sewing-lines 25, 26 and confined above -the lower front edgesof the material 14 and in locations where they may protect thecollar-bones only without interfering with the flexible character of thejacket below the regions thus protected, the back portion of the jacketbeing Hexible throughout, and said protectors each comprising a layer ofstiff material and a cushioning-pad on each side thereof @substantiallyas set forth.

3. The jacket adapted to be fastened around the upper portion of thebody and com rising collar-bone protectors, cushions in tle shoulderportions and shoulder-caps, each of the latter comprising an upperstiffleather section 30 and a lower cushion-section 31, said section 30lapping over upon the shoulder portion of the jacket and upon saidsection 31 and being secured to the latter, combined with meansaffording in effect an articulated connection of the shouldercaps to thejacket and means to extend under the armpits for securing said caps uponthe shoulders of the wearer substantially as set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 6th day of January, A. D. 1905.

ABRAHAM SCHEMEL.

Vfitnessesz CHAs. C. GILL, ARTHUR MARION.

